all dashboard lights on

could some kind soul take a guess as to what might cause an intermittent (sometimes on, then off after a little driving) illumination of dashboard warning lights (check engine, transmission, oil, etc..etc..)

I did replace alternator when about a year ago these all came on and it was easy to detect as there was a little smoke coming from the old alternator and after replacement, all was well

now I may drive for days, all is well, then some evening (this happens mostly when driving with headlights on at night), the lights come on and after a few miles they shut off

battery is almost new and all connections appear solid, should I pull and replace all fuses?

trooper 93 with 3.2 liter dohc v6 and 74k miles

thanks for any suggestions

Reply to
Nina
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Sounds familiar. On all my Troopers the alternators were always the weakest link. Looks like the alternator again to me. Is not impossible for a rebuilt one to break down after a year of service. Not sure though so let someone check this first. Good-luck, Erik-Jan.

Reply to
Erik-Jan Geniets

Check also for bad connections to the alternator. Erik-Jan.

Reply to
Erik-Jan Geniets

will do (smile) - can you give me a couple pointers on how-to detect a "bad connection" ?

Reply to
Nina

If there is one, check the connector just outside the alternator. It contains 3 to 4 wires normally. Disconnect it. Check if every wire is well connected to the connector half. Check if the contacts are clean etc.

Erik-Jan.

Reply to
Erik-Jan Geniets

Nina

Check or have someone check the voltage across the battery with the engine stopped and the engine running. It the voltage should be higher with the engine running around 13.5 V I think

Did all the bulbs light up for a few seconds when the ignition was turned on before the fault developed. If they did my guess the problem is to do with the unit which controls that function.

An awful lot of connection problem in vehicles are to do with the earth connections i.e the connection to chasis. Please excuse me but I have no way of knowing your knowledge level or experience. Electrical circuits usually need at least two connections to make them work. For basic stuff on cars like bulbs etc. that often consist of a wire from a switch which is the positive. The negative is often connected by a bolt or screw to the chasis or body of the car to which the negative of the battery is connected.

These earth or chassis connection can easily be not very good because of paint between the contact and the body, corrosion, rust etc. If it looks like there is any rust or dirt in the vicinity undo the connection and clean both the contact surfaces with some sandpaper or a fine file (used gently). I had ongoing problems with a mod someone had done to my Trooper caused by a poor eart contact.

Good Luck

David

Reply to
David

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